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    Wednesday, April 24, 2024

    NBA roundup

    Sacramento's Skal Labissiere, left, shoots against Golden State's JaVale McGee during the first half of Friday's game in Oakland, Calif. Sacramento won, 98-93. (Ben Margot/AP Photo)

    Kings 98, Warriors 93

    With April approaching, beat-up, undermanned Golden State is prioritizing health over everything else — even the No. 1 seed in the West.

    "It's a harrowing experience," coach Steve Kerr joked before the game. "I'm just trying to process it all."

    Yet the faces down are glaring: NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, two-time MVP Stephen Curry and his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson.

    Buddy Hield made three free throws over the final 27.5 seconds, Willie Cauley-Stein had a late dunk and the Sacramento Kings won for the second time this season on Golden State's home floor, beating a Warriors team missing its top three scorers 98-93 on Friday night.

    Hield finished with 22 points off the bench. He also had seven assists and seven rebounds.

    Quinn Cook scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting for Golden State (52-17), making his initial seven shots and also hitting a career-best five 3-pointers after the team announced Durant was out with a broken rib.

    Green returned from a one-game injury absence to produce 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocked shots.

    "That's the most important thing, though, is to get healthy," Green said. "Obviously I think where we are right now we're in the position where I think all three guys could play if they had to but it's just not that important for them to play. I think it's more important for them to be healthy. That's kind of been the theme the whole year, just to keep guys fresh and healthy and try to get a rhythm.

    "I don't think it's all bad for us with them guys being down. We'll be fine and get them healthy and then we can go into the playoffs healthy. That's the goal."

    Hield made one free throw with 27.5 seconds left and then two more with 13.2 seconds remaining as the Kings (23-47) withstood a frantic final minute after the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 75. Sacramento also won at Oracle Arena on Nov. 27.

    "It's just a side note as we grow and build," Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox said. "Every games matters for us just trying to get better."

    Before the game, NBA Finals MVP Durant became the latest Warriors star to go down . Then Golden State lost reserve Omri Casspi to an ankle injury early in the game.

    Durant will miss at least two weeks with a fractured rib on the right side. An MRI exam revealed Durant's injury, and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

    Durant said there's still time for the team to heal and get ready for the playoffs. He missed 18 games in 2017 before returning for the final two contests of the regular season.

    "No concern. I've got a couple weeks and I'm just trying to get healthy, and I'm just trying to make sure I'm out there being able to be me on the court," Durant said. "That's the most important thing. It's not great timing-wise, obviously. It's all about just feeling better when I'm out there playing."

    Cook scored 13 in the first quarter as the Warriors jumped out to a nice lead, but they held just a 59-57 edge at halftime.

    Both teams played the first of back-to-back games.

    Raptors 122, Mavericks 115

    DeMar DeRozan made the game-winning basket in overtime and the Toronto rallied to match the longest winning streak in franchise history, topping Dallas for its 11th consecutive win.

    DeRozan scored 29 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors (52-17) won for the 18th time in 19 games. Delon Wright had 15 points and Fred VanVleet scored 14, helping Toronto improve to an NBA-best 29-5 at home.

    Dallas had won three of four. Harrison Barnes scored 27 points for the Mavericks, and Dennis Smith Jr. had 19.

    Thunder 121, Clippers 113

    Corey Brewer scored 22 points to help Oklahoma City to its fifth straight win.

    Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his 22th triple-double of the season and the 101st of his career. Paul George scored 19 points and Steven Adams added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, who swept all three games from the Clippers this season.

    Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Austin Rivers added 23 for the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 21 rebounds.

    76ers 120, Nets 116

    Joel Embiid had 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds on his 24th birthday, leading the 76ers to the victory.

    J.J. Redick added 23 points and Ben Simmons had 21 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Philadelphia (38-30), which pulled a half-game behind idle Washington for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

    Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 21 points for the Nets (21-48), who lost their third straight and 19th in the last 22 games.

    Heat 92, Lakers 91

    Goran Dragic scored 30 points, including a go-ahead jumper in the final seconds, and Miami snapped a nine-game road losing streak.

    Miami trailed 91-90 after Kyle Kuzma made a 3-pointer for Los Angeles with 1:23 left. But Dragic got the lead back for the Heat with about 15 seconds remaining and Isaiah Thomas missed a 10-foot fallaway jumper at the buzzer for the Lakers.

    Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points for Miami. James Johnson had 12 points, and Bam Adebayo added 11 points and eight rebounds.

    Julius Randle led the Lakers with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

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